1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that stores an image formed, for example, by a personal computer, as an image data file (document file) until it is printed by an image forming apparatus connected through a network and, more specifically, to an image data processing apparatus that does not necessitate increase in image memory capacity and effectively avoids accumulative printing of the same image.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently, a print service is available by which a print request is issued to a network service and printing can be done by an arbitrary image forming apparatus (printer) connected to the network. More specifically, by the print service, when printing is to be done from an image processing terminal such as a personal computer (hereinafter denoted as a “PC”), image data is once stored in a server and a print request is made from any of a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to the network, whereby printing can be done from any of the image forming apparatuses.
In such a print service, considering image memory capacity of a shared server or from security concerns, the image data printed upon request from the image forming apparatus is deleted from the server.
A log information management system for generating and managing log information for monitoring wrongful image formation in such a print system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2007-079902 (Document 1).
The log information management system includes: image processing means for performing a process on data of an image; image data generating means for generating image data from data of the image; unique number generating means for generating a unique number corresponding to the image data generated by the image data generating means; job information generating means for monitoring process status of the image processing means and for generating job information; log information generating means for generating log information including job information, image data and the unique number; log information storage means for storing the log information; determining means for determining, every time the unique number generating means generates a unique number, whether or not the same unique number exists in the log information stored in the log information storage means; and log information changing means for deleting image data from the log information generated by the log information generating means if the determination by the determining means is positive. The log information storage means is characterized in that when the log information with the image data deleted is stored, it is related to log information having the same unique number as the unique number included in the subject log information.
According to the log information management system, every time a unique number is generated by the unique number generating means, whether the same unique number as the generated unique number exists in the log information storage means is determined by the determining means, and if the same unique number exists, the image data is deleted from the generated log information by the log information changing means, and the resulting log information is stored in correspondence with the unique number stored in the log information storage means. This prevents storage of image data derived from the same image in the log information storage means, and hence, storage capacity for the log information in the storage means can be saved.
Though not directly related to the print service, an image response system allowing sharing of image information by a plurality of terminals on a network and thereby alleviating economic burden on the user derived from facility cost is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-170379 (Document 2).
The image response system is formed of terminals displaying and outputting image information; a plurality of image servers with which various pieces of image information is registered; and an image exchanger connecting the image file servers with a terminal through a communication line; in which a prescribed image file server is connected to a terminal in response to a request from the terminal through the image exchanger, so that prescribed image information registered in the image file server is transmitted and output to the terminal. The system is characterized by a customer premises image storage device accommodating a plurality of terminals, having image information accumulating means connected to the image exchanger for accumulating pieces of image information, and control means for accessing to a prescribed image file server through the communication line and the image exchanger in response to an image accumulation request from each terminal, receiving prescribed image information from the image file server and accumulating the information in the image accumulating means, and for transmitting and outputting requested image information, in response to an image transmission request from each terminal, from the image accumulating means to the terminal.
According to the image response system, the control means accesses to a prescribed image file server through the communication line and the image exchanger in response to an image accumulation request from each terminal, prescribed image information is received from the image file server and accumulated in the image accumulating means, and the requested image information is transmitted and output from the image accumulating means to the terminal in response to the image transmission request from each terminal. The customer premises device allows sharing of image information by a plurality of terminals, so that the image accumulating means that was conventionally provided for each terminal becomes unnecessary. Thus, economical burden on the user derived from facility cost can be reduced.